INTERMEDIATE

Mercantilism

Mercantilism was the dominant economic philosophy during the 17th and part of the 18th centuries. Mercantilism believes that trade always benefits one party at the expense of the other. In addition, advocates viewed trade and wealth in terms of the state, rather than the individual. Government policies reflected this as they attempted to regulate trade in a manner which limited imports. Adam Smith mounted the definitive assault on mercantilist policies in his Wealth of Nations where he advocated free exchange over mercantilist controls. Even after Smith, governments continue to embrace mercantilist policies in the form of tariffs, subsidies, and military intervention in countries that have resources of perceived geo-political importance.

Lawrence Reed- Adam Smith and the Birth of Economics

Burt Folsom - The Myth of the Robber Barons

Jack Chambless - The Curse of Alexander Hamilton

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December 2014

Unfortunately, educating people about phenomena that are counterintuitive, not-so-easy to remember, and suggest our individual lack of human control (for starters) can seem like an uphill battle in the war of ideas. So we sally forth into a kind of wilderness, an economic fairyland. We are myth busters in a world where people crave myths more than reality. Why do they so readily embrace untruth? Primarily because the immediate costs of doing so are so low and the psychic benefits are so high.